The Washington Post: Most Innovative News Outlet Global 2020
Founded in 1877, the Post has won 69 Pulitzer prizes, just trailing behind the New York Times. In 1950, the term McCarthyism was first coined in an unfavourable Post editorial cartoon. In the late 60s, Editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee encouraged the forensic reporting of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate scandals. Considered to be left-leaning, the Post is occasionally referred to as “Pravada of the Potomac” – but significantly, these cries come from both ends of the political spectrum. Truth be told, right- as well as left-wing editorial views are often to be found within its pages. Recent critics have included Bernie Sanders as well as Donald Trump. The judging panel points to the paper’s keenness to implement technical innovations, and experiment bravely in the new media environment. Its transition to a technology-first media company is to be applauded. Jeff Bezos (who is a hands-off proprietor by all accounts), acquired the paper seven years ago and has encouraged speedy adaption to the new age. Digital-only subscriber numbers soared, and the company has powered into the software space. Its in-house publishing platform, Arc, has proved attractive to the Los Angeles Times, the New Zealand Herald and others. Sites running on Arc have more than 200 million readers worldwide. Happily, this innovation provided a financial boost to hold back the decline in readership of the print journal. The Washington Post out-innovates its competition and CFI.co confirms this repeat winner as recipient of the 2020 award for Most Innovative News Outlet Global.
